Documentaries that will change you
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- DirectorLucy WalkerKaren HarleyJoão JardimStarsVik MunizOn the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorYann Arthus-BertrandStarsYann Arthus-BertrandGlenn CloseJacques GamblinWith aerial footage from fifty-four countries, 'Home' is a depiction of how Earth's problems are all interlinked.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsGore VidalJohn McCainKen AdelmanIs American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.
- DirectorLixin FanStarsChanghua ZhangYang ZhangSuqin ChenA couple embarks on a journey home for Chinese new year along with 130 million other migrant workers, to reunite with their children and struggle for a future. Their unseen story plays out as China soars towards being a world superpower.10/28/2012- SHAMSI 91/08/07
It is about migrant workers in china, but somehow in a broader view remind you what Novalis said: "Philosophy is properly Home-sickness; the wish to be everywhere at home." - StarsPhurba Tashi SherpaRod BaberDarius VaiciulisClimbers arrive at Everest Base Camp and quickly learn the dangers of the mountain.They are shocked to discover how badly their minds and bodies cope as they move to Advance Base Camp. A cameraman collapses with intense stomach pains. A member of an Indian expedition collapses with acute mountain sickness. It is up to expedition physician, Terry, to lead a full-scale rescue mission.
- StarsSigourney WeaverDavid AttenboroughNikolay DrozdovA documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenborough.
- DirectorPolly MorlandDavid WilsonStarsRobert BeckfordJanet DibleyEdward AdamsWho actually wrote the book that millions of people describe as the word of God? Christian theologian Robert Beckford sets off on a voyage of historical discovery through Genesis and beyond to uncover the Bible's complex origins.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.It has no tragic end, but absolutely is tragic in all aspect.
- DirectorDave GrohlStarsTrent ReznorTom PettyMick FleetwoodA documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.
- DirectorJamie DoranMike HealyStarsNajibullah QuraishiArun RathIn Afghanistan many hundreds of boys, often as young as ten, are being lured off the streets on the promise of a new life.
- StarsAdam CurtisStewart BrandAl GoreA series of films about how humans have been colonized by the machines we have built. Although we don't realize it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers.
- StarsLeslie BerlinRoger BorovoyKathleen CohenSILICON VALLEY tells the story of the pioneering scientists who transformed rural Santa Clara County into the hub of technological ingenuity we now know as Silicon Valley.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
- DirectorAdam CurtisStarsGeorge BushGeorge W. BushJoanne HerringAn experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.
- DirectorBrian OakesStarsJames FoleyUnai AranzadiZac BaillieAn in-depth look at the life and work of American journalist James Foley, who was killed by ISIS terrorists in 2014.The movie has a strong message why James has been in Iraq, Syria, Libya and what front-line journalism mission is.
The narrative is accompanied with profound pictures of war it's amazing how close it gets you the field of conflict. - DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsElon MuskJoel SartoreLouie PsihoyosA documentary that follows undercover activists trying to stave off a man-made mass extinction.
- DirectorShane SalernoStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanEdward NortonJudd ApatowAn unprecedented look inside the private world of J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsBalinese Tari Legong DancersNi Made Megahadi PratiwiPuti Sri Candra DewiFilmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
- DirectorDaniel JungeSharmeen Obaid-ChinoyStarsSarkar AbbasMohammad JawadPlastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad returns to his native Pakistan to help those left horribly scarred by acid attacks.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsHerbert A. FuchsSammy SilverwatchNick YarrisA convicted murderer who has spent 23 years on Death Row tells his story.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsAbdelaziz AlhamzaMohamad AlmusariHamoud AlmousaA documentary that follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. With deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsBryan FogelDave ZabriskieDon CatlinWhen Bryan sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorBrian KnappenbergerStarsAaron SwartzTim Berners-LeeCindy CohnThe story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsDavid SangerEmad KiyaeiEric ChienA documentary focused on Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware that the U.S. and Israel unleashed to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target.
- DirectorAlex ChittyStarsBen AndersonAndreas Bakke FossJason LeopoldIn Moscow, VICE co-founder Shane Smith's in depth interview with controversial NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden serves as the backdrop for a story on the state of government sponsored surveillance both at home in the US and around the world.
- DirectorBregtje van der HaakStarsBrewster KahleJason Scott SadofskyOur memory is dissipating. Hard drives only last five years, a webpage is forever changing and there's no machine left that can read 15-year old floppy disks. Digital data is vulnerable. Yet entire libraries are shredded and lost to budget cuts, because we assume everything can be found online. But is that really true? For the first time in history, we have the technological means to save our entire past, yet it seems to be going up in smoke. Will we suffer from collective amnesia? This VPRO Backlight documentary tracks down the amnesiac zeitgeist starting at the Royal Tropical Institute, whose world-famous 250-year old library was lost to budget cuts. 400.000 Books and 20.000 magazines were saved from the shredder by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, director of the world-famous Library of Alexandria, who is turning the legendary library of classical antiquity into a new knowledge hub for the digital world. In San Francisco we visit the Internet Archive that's going against the trend to destroy archives and, in fact, wants to save everything. Founder is Internet pioneer Brewster Kahle, who's investing his own money in a universal archive for mankind. His Internet Archive scans and saves the Internet every two months, because Kahle thinks knowledge of the past is essential for shaping the future. Images as well as texts risk being lost in this 'Digital Dark Age'. In an old McDonald's restaurant on a deserted army base in Silicon Valley, retired NASA engineer Dennis Wingo is trying to retrieve the very first images of the moon. After years of tinkering, he now has one machine running to play the few remaining tapes. How do we prevent the massive destruction of information? Are we doomed to an amnesic flight into the future or can we harness new technology to maintain access to knowledge from the past? Digital historian Jason Scott has invented The Archive Team, a network of young activists that saves websites that are at risk of disappearing forever. And, in San Francisco, The Long Now Foundation has put the long-term back on the agenda. Musician Brian Eno, writer Stewart Brand and inventor Danny Hillis are building a clock that only ticks once a year and should last 10,000 years, in an attempt to foster thinking beyond our own children and to reconnect with generations thousands of years from now.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsElon MuskLawrence KraussLucianne WalkowiczWerner Herzog's exploration of the Internet and the connected world.
- DirectorTorquil JonesStarsNirmal PurjaSuchi PurjaKlára KolouchováFearless Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in seven months.